Shifting opinions among female voters and Northern Virginians have pushed the race between Republican Bob McDonnell and Democrat Creigh Deeds into a four-point ballgame with just over 40 days until Election Day.

A new Washington Post poll found that McDonnell is still leading in the race, but the comfortable 15-point margin that he enjoyed during the summer months has apparently dissipated, likely linked the the intense focus on McDonnell's 20-year-old graduate school thesis from what is now Regent University.

Now the margin is 51 percent for McDonnell and 47 percent for Deeds.

The shifting landscape has to be a concern for the GOP and you could tell that Team McDonnell was in damage control mode when the thesis hit and during the ensuing campaign weeks as Democrats have repeatedly pounded it as McDonnell's blueprint for government.

Republicans can take some solace in the fact that Deeds recently did himself no favors with what was roundly considered a difficult appearance in front of business leaders in a debate in vote-rich Fairfax.

Reporters Anita Kumar and Jon Cohen at the Post have a nice analysis of the poll, including some telling quotes from different folks on how they view McDonnell 93-page thesis, which included derogatory references to working women and "fornicators, cohabitators and homosexuals."

The ramifications of the paper depend on your perspective, here are a couple telling quotes:

"He's all those things they discovered in the thesis," said Ray Ellen, 62, a retired state employee from Fairfax County who responded to the poll. "McDonnell likes to change the subject frequently. . . . This guy has everybody fooled."

Nice contrast:

Laura Morefield, 39, a Chesterfield mother of three young children and a part-time teacher at Virginia Commonwealth University, said she continued to support McDonnell after learning about the thesis. "It doesn't really matter. When you look at him today, his wife works, his daughter works," she said.

You always have to remember that political polling is not a flat black-and-white game. The tone, tenor and content of questions can alter outcomes dramatically and partisan observers also usually take a close look at the sample of voters because a small or skewed pool of folks can give you a bad read on the public

Republican Bob McDonnell's wife, Maureen, hit familiar territory on Sunday when she ran out onto the field during halftime to rally the Washington Redskins past the lowly St. Louis Rams.

Maureen McDonnell was a longtime cheerleader for the skins, spending three seasons cheering for the team between 1974 and 1976. She returned on Sunday as part of an alumni halftime show that reportedly brought about 150 former cheerleaders to the FedEx Field.

Mrs. McDonnell fondly recalled her cheering days.

"Some of the sweetest memories I have take me back to the Sundays I spent at RFK Stadium. The excitement and electricity at RFK on game day was an experience that's hard to replicate. I've always loved the big-hearted loyal Redskin Fans! I will never forget every time the team scored the crowd erupting into a deafening roar shaking the stadium, while the ground vibrated beneath our feet as we danced to 'Hail to the Redskins.' My dad was at every game cheering me on, and Bob would join him whenever he was home from college. I am honored the Redskin organization has invited us back to take part in this anniversary celebration at FedEx Field; and I am thrilled to be able to share this special day with my biggest fans: my father, my children and my wonderful husband."

We could only find a small old grainy shot of Mrs. McDonnell in her Redskinette gear.

U.S. Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott and U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor are meeting in Richmond this morning with about 225 local folks who want to weigh in on the simmering Washington debate over health care reform.

Scott, a Newport News Democrat, and Cantor, a Richmond Republican, offer very different approaches to the health care debate, and they're both likely to have supporters out in force - especially as federal lawmakers begin to talk about an end-game for a vote on a bill.

Folks were lining up early this morning to get into the meeting, because of limited space in the auditorium, so you can bet that Scott and Cantor are going to get a big dose of passion.

The timing of the meeting is interesting because it finally appears that Democrats and President Barack Obama have a framework for the reform. Plus Obama is set to sit down a chat with David Letterman tonight, and he's likely to lean into the health care debate to make his pitch to the public.

It's a fairly unprecedented move for a sitting president to go on the late-night talk shows, but clearly Obama wants to get his message out after an August that was filled with uncertainty about reform.

Del. Phil Hamilton, under fire for taking a job at an Old Dominion University teacher-training center that he sought state funding for, just released his response to ODU's internal audit of the situation.

The ODU auditors found Hamilton's hiring was poorly handled and that his work performance went mostly undocumented.

The program will touch on transportation, the budget, the economy and the candidates’ experience. Cox will repeat the 90-minute block of programs several times through Oct. 31. They will also run on Cox’s cable systems in Roanoke and Northern Virginia and be posted on YouTube.

Steve Shannon didn't pull any punches in his news conference on "accountability in government."

He said Del. Phil Hamilton, who resigned a $40,000-a-year
part-time job with Old Dominion University after it became clear that
he was negotiating a salary for the job prior to securing state funding
for the position, left a "stain of public corruption" on the General
Assembly and on the university.

"Del. Hamilton's actions are intolerable," Shannon said. "Right now, there is a gaping hole in the conflict-of-interest statue."

Ken Cuccinelli, Shannon's Republican opponent in the race for
attorney general, said through a spokesman that Shannon was making
mistakes and disqualifying himself from involvement in a potential
future investigation "to score political points."

Steve Shannon, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, is holding a press teleconference this afternoon to announce what his campaign is describing as "his plan to make Virginia's
government more accountable and transparent in the wake of the widely
publicized conflict of interest scandal involving Newport News Delegate Phil
Hamilton and a public university."

Republican Bob McDonnell repeated touched on his Hampton Roads roots on Tuesday while the former attorney general looked to woo members of the local legal community.

"It's nice seeing so many people I've fought for and fought against," McDonnell quipped. "I've lived in this community for 21 years."

McDonnell spent the better part of the forum talking about his belief in the free-enterprise system and his plans for dealing with transportation and education during 4 years in the executive mansion.

"We need to keep taxation, regulation and litigation at a minimum," Mcdonnell said. "There are many differences in the race especially when it comes to free enterprise and business."

McDonnell also touted his own transportation plan that would sell off the state's interest in liquor stores, rely on off-shore drilling and borrowing to pump money into the state's aging transportation network. McDonnell also critiqued Democrat Creigh Deeds' transportation program calling it "elect me and we'll figure things out."

Democrat Creigh Deeds stressed his personal story and his 18-year legislative history as he introduced himself to local lawyers Tuesday afternoon.

Deeds, a Bath County Democrat, introduced himself as "a country lawyer."

"I call myself and country lawyer," Deeds told the crowd. "A country lawyer is someone who has to be able to handle pretty much whatever comes through the door."

Deeds vowed to work in bi-partisan fashion if elected to the Executive Mansion.

"Nothing worth doing gets done unless both sides work together," Deeds said."I'll be realistic and honest about the challenges we face."

But now Deeds is talking transportation during the question and answer session that asked him how he views the gas tax. Deeds said that he is now being attacked in campaign commercials for voting last year during a special session on transportation for a gas tax increase.

"I voted for a gas tax last year," Deeds said "Everything is on the table for me, except taking money away from education. I'm not wedded to any source of funding."

It looks like we're getting about 20 good minutes from Republican Bob McDonnell and Democrat Creigh Deeds today, and they're about to start.

Each candidate has a 10-minute opening statement followed by about 10 minutes of questions-and-answers from the audience. We''ve got a legally-minded crowd here today so they might get down in the weeds discussing the intricacies of campaign finance law.

But you never know, lawyers like a good show too so they might try to get the two candidates to mix it up.

It looks like Deeds is the first to go, because he has another campaign commitment this afternoon so he has to hit the road soon.